Startups focus on AI and self-driving cars at TechCrunch Disrupt

At TechCrunch Disrupt, a robot that can mow your lawn and a dating app for airplane passengers all vie to become the next big thing.

Marc Andreessen is the co-founder of Andreesen-Horowitz, one of the most powerful venture capital firms in the world, which has invested in everything from Airbnb to Twitter. He said artificial intelligence is now at the center of their investments.

Udacity, an online education company, is among the companies Andreessen-Horowitz has invested in. Udacity has also announced it’s getting into AI and self-driving cars.

Udacity is teaming up with companies like BMW and Nvidia to launch an online degree program for students to become engineers in self-driving cars.

Another Andreessen-Horowitz priority is gearing up for the self-driving car battle, putting money behind a developer happy to slam competitors like startup Cruise, which was recently bought by General Motors.

George Hotz is the founder of Comma.ai. Hotz’s company is set to launch a device that will allow cars to steer, drive and brake on their own.

Hacker George Hotz discusses his first official product: The Comma One

George Hotz, also known as the hacker “Geohot,” is known for being the first to unlock the iPhone and open it up to all carriers. He also hacked into the Sony PlayStation 3, and was later sued by Sony.

CCTV America’s Mark Niu sat down with Hotz and talked with him about his latest product: the Comma One.